The traditional model for print operations is the pushing of content to a print device from a device. Most often, this involves a computer communicating with a print device, e.g., a printer or multi-function peripheral including a print function. The communication may follow the format of wired connection interface, such as the case where a print device connects to a print device over a serial or parallel computer port. The communication might also follow a wireless connection such as that used for communication through an infrared port. The basic operation in either case involves a device, e.g., a computer, linking to a computer, converting content into a format acceptable to the print device, and then transferring the data to the print device. As an example, a computer printing a Microsoft Word document addresses a print device, converts the document data and format information into a print device ready format, and pushes the data to the print device. Protocol standards handle the communication between the print device and the device pushing the data to be printed. Print servers, typically software resident or cooperative with a data generating program, convert data into a native print device format.
The traditional model limits print operations in a number of ways. One important limitation is the inability of the print device to be used by devices lacking the ability to convert data into a print device ready format. Even if this inability were overcome by some manner, another limitation concerns the practical limits of the types of devices and device connections that may utilize a print device. Specifically, devices that lack sufficient memory resources to store data to be printed are, as practical matter, unable to make effective use of a print device. In addition, devices that lack a sufficiently fast or sufficiently reliable communication link to the print device also may not effectively use the print device. A particular class of devices that might lack sufficient memory for print content, or a fast enough device-print device interface, or a reliable enough device-print device interface, are portable wireless devices. Personal digital assistants (PDAs), cell phones, wireless data terminals and other wireless devices would have increased usefulness, and add increased usefulness to print devices, if the wireless devices had efficient print capabilities.